Star Trek: The Next Generation #51: Double Helix, Book One of Six: Infection

By John Gregory Betancourt

Infection, the first book in the "Double Helix" miniseries, is a good, if not great, Star Trek novel.  The story takes place during the early part of TNG's first season, back when Tasha Yar was still alive, Geordi LaForge was a helmsman, and the crew of the Enterprise-D were still getting to know one another.  A planet called Archaria III is suffering a horrible plague epidemic, and when the Enterprise arrives to offer aid and possibly find a cure, the ship becomes infected with the insidious virus.  Archaria III is a failed Federation colony world, where the human settlers live jointly, but not peacefully, with an alien race called the Paladians.  When Dr. Crusher discovers that the virus has been deliberately manufactured to target human/alien crossbreeds, known as "mixers" on the planet, the bigoted humans of Archaria III become suspect.  Inevitably, Deanna Troi contracts the virus.

I liked that this book was set during the early days of TNG.  It was fun to read about Tasha Yar, and the subtly different ways the crew interacted with one another during the early days of their continuing mission.  The lack of any scenes involving a young Wesley Crusher was a missed opportunity in my opinion, but I realize I'm in the minority regarding my affection for that character.  I also enjoyed the way in which the book handled the scientific explanations for how the disease worked.  I don't know a lot about science, but I've always enjoyed when Star Trek finds a way to work real-world science into the stories.

While the book offered an intriguing mystery and an increasingly tense plot, it is a short novel with a startlingly abrupt conclusion.  Many potentially interesting scenarios are introduced, enough to fill a novel twice as long, but never fully explored.  Tasha Yar and Data stumble across the Orion Syndicate agent responsible for releasing the plague on Archaria III purely by chance, and Dr. Crusher finally realizes the key to curing the virus just by sitting down and thinking hard about it.  It was almost as though the writer reached the end of his assigned page count and had to quickly wrap things up without bringing the book to a satisfactory conclusion.  I realize this is only the first part in a six part miniseries, and the true identity of the person responsible for the virus should make an intriguing mystery throughout the rest of the books, but I still wish this book had provided a more satisfactory reading experience.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Star Trek Books

In this long-delayed introductory essay to one seven zero one, I wanted to outline my personal history with Star Trek and Star Trek books, and also talk a bit about my intentions with and approach to this blog.  I became a Star Trek fan during the mid-nineties, shortly after Star Trek: The Next Generation had ended and was being rerun in syndication.  I have fond memories of watching the show every weeknight.  Two episodes were broadcast back to back at nine and ten, and I would often fall asleep watching them, gradually becoming familiar with the world of Star Trek.  I consider the first time I saw the excellent TNG episode "The Inner Light" as the moment I became a Star Trek fan, and it remains my favorite episode of that series to this day.  I could write a lot more about what appealed to me about Star Trek, but since this is a Star Trek books blog, I'll just note that I moved from TNG to watching the other Trek series (Deep Space Nine and Voyager were still broadcasting new episodes at the time, and my best friend's sister lent me her massive library of homemade VHS tapes of The Original Series), and, finally, to the Star Trek novels published by Pocket Books.

I didn't read a huge amount of Star Trek novels at this time, but I remember being particularly fond of the William Shatner Captain Kirk books, particularly The Return.  I also really liked Peter David's New Frontier series.  The mid-to-late-nineties were a good time to be a Trekkie.  There were two Star Trek TV series on the air, one of the best movies, First Contact, came out around this time, and of course a lot of Star Trek books were being published.  As the decade came to a close, however, the franchise seemed to fade a bit.  Deep Space Nine and Voyager came to an end, the movies following First Contact weren't as good, and the new show, Enterprise, would be the first Star Trek series since the original to be cancelled, after a four-year run.  I was in college around this time, and there were plenty of distractions both academic and otherwise.  I was studying English literature and becoming increasingly self-conscious about the type of reading I was doing.  I didn't consider Star Trek books to be "real" literature and could not justify continuing reading them, and anyway I was losing interest in Star Trek in general.  I became more interested in new, more hip and self-aware genre fiction like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and while I retained a fondness for Star Trek, I stopped watching Enterprise and did not go to see what turned out to be the final TNG movie, Nemesis.  Given the direction the franchise has taken since that time, it is obvious my experience mirrored that of a lot of the audience.  It seemed as though people had finally had their fill of Star Trek.

A few years ago, around the time buzz started to build for J.J. Abrams' new movie, which would reimagine the franchise for a modern audience, I started to become interested in Star Trek again.  An article in Entertainment Weekly magazine celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation inspired me to revisit all of the Star Trek TV shows, starting with the original series.  Thus began a years long project.  I purchased and watched every episode of every series on DVD, the first time I had given the shows such a close viewing.  I found I loved them even more now then I had then.  I also really enjoyed the new movie.  When I finally watched the final episodes of Enterprise, I was left wanting more.  With the next Star Trek movie over a year away and no TV series currently on the air, where was I to turn for my Star Trek fix?  Clearly, the time had come to return to Star Trek fiction.

As I was watching the various shows on DVD, I was sort of peripherally aware of what was going on with the books.  I would often be tempted to start reading them again, but I couldn't quite justify taking time away from the kinds of books I was already reading, both professionally and recreationally.  When I found a nearly complete set of the William Shatner written novels at a used bookstore, though, I decided to take the plunge.  I was also inspired by a conversation with one of my co-workers, who spoke to me passionately and at length about his affection for Robert B. Parker's mystery novels.  These novels, genre work not generally considered "literary," had clearly given him such joy, and he was able to speak so intelligently and enthusiastically about them.  The conversation inspired me to "follow my bliss" as a reader, to find books that excited me as much as Parker's books had inspired my co-worker.  Right now, those books, for me, are Star Trek books.

While I've figured out a way to incorporate Star Trek fiction into my regular routine in a way that still allows me to read all of the other kinds of books I enjoy reading and need to keep up on for my job, I am putting everything else aside for the next three months and only reading Star Trek books, in a project I have affectionately dubbed the "Summer of Star Trek."  My current plan is to attempt to get caught up on the original fiction concepts (such as New Frontier and Vanguard), as well as the series based on the various TV shows after the point at which they continued beyond the end of the shows, or beyond the film Nemesis in the case of TNG.  I realize that this is an unnecessarily completest approach, and I may not stick with it, but for now that is my reading plan.  This is why you've been seeing so many reviews for early books in the New Frontier series posted on the blog, and why you may not see any reviews of newer books posted for a while.  I fear this may make one seven zero one seem hopelessly out of touch with the current world of Star Trek fiction, but perhaps some of you will find the perspective I offer here to be of some value.

What can you expect to find here at one seven zero one?  In the immediate future, expect more reviews of Star Trek books published in the nineties (although I promise my next review is NOT of a New Frontier novel).  You can probably expect the frequency of new posts to stay fairly consistent throughout the summer, and while I'd like to maintain the pace of at least two new posts every week, things may slow down a bit in the fall.  We'll see.  Expect reviews of nonfiction Star Trek books, in addition to the novels.  I also want to post things other than reviews, although further essays or general commentary on the world of Star Trek books will not be as long or self-indulgent as this one, I swear.  If there is any interesting or noteworthy publishing news, I may mention it here from time to time.  I suspect I am too shy to do interviews with authors, but I'm not completely taking that option off the table.  Again, we'll see.  What you WON'T see here is any discussion of Star Trek films or television episodes.  I want to keep this blog focused only on the books.  I sincerely thank anyone and everyone who has been reading this blog since our soft launch a month ago, and promise that I will continue to try and improve the quality of my writing and criticism, and of this blog in general.  If you are ever moved to comment on anything I post here, I would be grateful.

Finally, welcome to one seven zero one: a star trek books blog!

Star Trek: New Frontier: The Captain's Table, Book Five: Once Burned

By Peter David

This book is, obviously, the fifth part of the "Captain's Table" miniseries, which all of the Star Trek series then being published participated in.  More importantly, at least to New Frontier fans, it is also where we finally learn what happened to Mackenzie Calhoun during his time aboard the USS Grissom, an important event in Calhoun's life only hinted at in previous New Frontier novels.

It is not necessary to have read the previous four chapters of the "Captain's Table" miniseries to understand this book, as each novel stands on its own as a self-contained story.  The basic idea is that an entrance to a transdimensional bar called the Captain's Table appears to captains throughout history and throughout the galaxy.  When they enter the bar, they are able to interact with other patrons from across space and time (although they are of course forbidden to reveal information which may alter history), and they are also required to tell a story.  The Captain's Table thus provides a framing device for the stories in each of the novels.  Mackenzie Calhoun actually visits the Captain's Table twice, once as a young freedom fighter on his home world, Xenex (he was considered a captain of a group of soldiers he was leading at the time), and again as captain of the Excalibur.  It is during this second visit that he relates the story of the Grissom.

We know from previous New Frontier novels that Calhoun's experience aboard the Grissom is something he does not like to talk about, and that it is what caused him to publicly resign from Starfleet.  Often when these sorts of dark chapters are hinted at in regards to characters' pasts, the actual reveal is rarely as satisfying as whatever the reader has imagined.  Not so in this case.  Once Burned is an absolutely fantastic novel that does not disappoint on any level, building in tension until the final pages.  It is also, appropriately, the darkest chapter yet of the New Frontier saga.  The crew of the Grissom is assigned to escort a diplomatic team consisting of the captain's daughter and brother in hopes of negotiating peace between two warring alien species.  A horrible tragedy occurs during this mission, and then things get worse.  Much worse.  I don't want to reveal too much about the events that transpire, but the chapters have titles like "The Blame," "The Lie," and "The Slaughter."  That should give you a pretty good idea of the dark tone of the book, and the increasingly desperate situation Calhoun finds himself in.

One of the great things about Once Burned is that it gives writer Peter David, who has done such a wonderful job creating new characters for the New Frontier series, the opportunity to create an entirely new crew for the Grissom.  This new group includes Katerina Mueller, the Grissom's XO who is having an affair with Calhoun.  Romeo "Hash" Takahashi, a blond Asian with a southern drawl.  And Cray, the creepy Andorian chief of security.  I really grew to like these characters over the course of the novel, and was delighted by a surprise statement by Calhoun at the end.  Apparently, he had invited some of these characters to serve aboard the Excalibur on the night shift, so it is likely we have not seen the last of them.  This is great news, particularly where Kat Mueller, a fun and fascinating character, is concerned.  In fact, between the former Grissom officers and Janos, the Mugato security officer introduced in an earlier New Frontier novel, I think a spin off featuring the night crew of the Excalibur could make for a great series.

As much as I enjoyed this novel, I have a couple of minor gripes.  In addition to revealing the story of the Grissom tragedy, Once Burned also reveals the origin of the hostility that Admiral Jellico has for Calhoun.  I thought the way in which these two characters had a falling out was rather abrupt, and frankly unfair to Admiral Jellico.  In my opinion, Calhoun treated him very badly for no good reason, and it made Calhoun look bad.  I also didn't like how the beginning of the next novel in "The Captain's Table" sequence, Where Sea Meets Sky, was tacked on to the end of this one.  Because each novel features a different captain and stands on its own, it was kind of like ending the book with a commercial.  I found it unnecessary and distracting, unfortunately taking away a little bit from the impact of this novel's conclusion.

Despite those two caveats, I give Once Burned my highest possible recommendation.  Of course New Frontier fans will want to read it, but I recommend it even if you have not read any of the other New Frontier or "Captain's Table" novels, as it is a fantastic story that stands completely on its own.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book Six: Fire On High

By Peter David

I like this book better than the previous novel, Martyr.  As I noted in my review of that book, character development is a particular strength of the New Frontier series, and the discovery of Robin Lefler's mother, whom she believed to have died ten years ago, provides a nice emotional arc for the characters, as well as a compelling mystery.

Robin's mother, who now goes by the name Morgan Primus, is a woman with a lot of secrets.  While Robin is angry at her for having abandoned Robin and her father years ago, Captain Calhoun needs her help to solve the mystery of the Prometheans, a mythic race who Morgan has been on the trail of for years, and who may be able to remove the energy creature gestating in the Excalibur's warp core.  Meanwhile, the sexual exploits of Burgoyne 172, Dr. Selar, and Mark McHenry result in at least one (and possibly two) pregnancies.  By the end of the novel, the Prometheans make their appearance and the subplot involving the warp core creature is resolved.  As always, plenty of loose ends are left over to provide fodder for upcoming books in the series.

I read the early New Frontier novels when they were originally published over a decade ago, and am  now revisiting them.  I didn't remember much about this one, and I realized something about the identity of Robin's mother I had completely missed the first time around.  While no one ever comes out and says it in this book, it became clear to me that author Peter David was making a strong suggestion as to the true identity of Morgan Primus, an identity most fans of the original Star Trek t.v. series will probably be able to pick up on.  I'm embarrassed to say I only figured it out around page 220 of the book, on a second reading, no less!  Still, I really enjoyed the way this particular bit of Trek trivia was "hidden" in the novel without ever being revealed or explored, and I'm curious to see if they will do anything with it in later novels.

Fire on High achieves a near perfect balance between character moments, mystery, and sci-fi adventure.  It also introduces a great new character in the form of Morgan Primus, and an intriguing group of villains in the Prometheans.  Perhaps the finest book in the series up to this point, but I've a feeling the best is yet to come.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book Five: Martyr

By Peter David

Martyr is the first full length novel in the New Frontier series, following the four short chapter books that launched the concept.  I remember being particularly excited when this book was first published because the cover had a picture of some of the members of the primary cast, and I had been curious as to what some of them looked liked.  I was disappointed that the dual-gendered character, Burgoyne 172, was not featured, although s/he is finally shown on the cover of book six.

Okay, enough about the cover, how about the story?  The plot follows directly on the events of book four, as the crew of the Excalibur discovers that a planet that has been fighting a generations-long civil war has come to view Captain Mackenzie Calhoun as a messiah.  Despite first officer Elizabeth Shelby's protestations, Calhoun decides to use this perception to his advantage, in hopes of bringing peace to the divided world.  Of course, as the title of the book suggests, there is a sinister aspect to the prophecy regarding Calhoun.  Meanwhile, the subplot of Selar's Pon farr continues, as does the Selar-Burgoyne-McHenry love triangle.  In a surprising twist, when Selar feels she has lost Burgoyne to McHenry, she formally requests that Captain Calhoun have sex with her and father her child!

I found the soap opera elements of this book to be vastly entertaining, while the main plot with Calhoun as the messiah was only mildly interesting.  I also found the inclusion of another group of aliens, the Redeemers, to be somewhat confusing, in that I couldn't figure out their relationship to the aliens who thought Calhoun was the messiah.  Ultimately, I think these are simply two separate groups who have nothing to do with one another.  The Redeemers play a relatively small role here and are presumably being set up as adversaries for a future novel, but, again, I felt their inclusion was needlessly confusing and unnecessary.  One bright spot of the "A" plot was the introduction of Ensign Janos, the Mugato(!) security officer who fought Burgoyne on the planet's surface while under an alien influence.  Ensign Janos was certainly a unique character, and I look forward to learning more about him.

Ultimately, while the messiah story was not that interesting to me, the heart of the New Frontier story is the characters and their relationships to one another.  On that front, Martyr is a successful novel that sets up some very interesting possibilities for future books.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book Four: End Game

By Peter David

The epic conclusion to the first New Frontier story ends with an honest to god sword fight and the appearance of a giant, mythical creature.  Pretty wild stuff, but appropriate for a book about the crew of a starship called Excalibur, I suppose.

In all honesty, I sort of regret reviewing each of these initial four short chapter books individually, as I've kind of run out of things to say by this point.  Because I just started the blog, I wanted to be sure and have a series of posts go up in a timely manner, but I tore through these books a lot faster than I thought I would.  I've learned my lesson, and I thank anyone who has read all of the reviews in this series for bearing with me.

Anyway, some final thoughts about the first four New Frontier books: I think the most important thing about this series is the characters and the tone.  Anchored by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, the crew of the starship Excalibur is a diverse and entertaining group, partly composed of aliens created just for this series.  There is an "anything goes" quality to the New Frontier series that makes it really compelling.  It is often very funny, but can turn on a dime and explore some pretty dark themes, as well.  I don't think I've mentioned that there's also a lot more sex in this series than one typically finds in Star Trek, which is, of course, a welcome change of pace.  While End Game provides a satisfying conclusion to the first adventure, there are plenty of dangling plot threads left over at the end which would provide plenty of opportunities for great stories in the years to come.  I look forward to catching up on this wonderful addition to the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book Three: The Two-Front War

By Peter David

The third in a series of four, short chapter books which launched the New Frontier series, The Two-Front War is more action-oriented than the earlier books, which were primarily concerned with establishing the cast and setting up the basic premise of the series.  As the title of this book suggests, the plot is more or less divided along two parallel tracks.  Si Cwan and Zak Kebron find themselves in a desperate struggle for their lives against old enemies of Cwan's.  Cwan is searching for his younger sister, missing since the fall of the Thallonian Empire, and his enemies use this fact to lure Cwan and Kebron into a trap.  Cwan's and Kebron's battle against their adversaries is intense and violent, and makes for compelling reading.

Somewhat less compelling is Captain Calhoun and the Excalibur crew's rescue of a freighter captain and the large group of refugees he had been transporting until their ship was damaged in a firefight between two warring alien races.  A seemingly benign group of aliens offers a safe haven to the refugees, but, as Calhoun suspects, their motives are revealed to be sinister.  The situation the Excalibur crew find themselves in, while not wholly original, is good for showcasing the personalities of the characters, as the captain is forced to make some difficult decisions.  I think the challenge for the New Frontier books going forward will be to see if they can come up with some truly interesting adversaries, new villains who are as complex and compelling as the Excalibur's crew.  Because the Excalibur is exploring a previously unknown sector of space, the situation is similar to that of Star Trek: Voyager, where the writers could not rely on familiar alien races and had to invent new ones, at least until Voyager brought the Borg into play.

All of the characters come together again in book four, the epic conclusion to the first New Frontier adventure.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book Two: Into the Void

By Peter David

This is where things really get rolling in the New Frontier series, as the final crew members are introduced and the starship Excalibur begins its mission in Sector 221-G.  The most important event in Into the Void is the introduction of the ship's first officer, Commander Elizabeth Shelby, a character who appeared in the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) episode, "The Best of Both Worlds."  In that episode, it was established that she was an expert on the hostile Borg species, and that she was a highly ambitious officer who was gunning for Commander Riker's position on the Enterprise.  Her strong personality and ambition are on full display in this novel, but it is her relationship to her captain, Mackenzie Calhoun, that makes the dynamic between the two one of the most unique and just plain fun in all of Star Trek.  Shelby and Calhoun had once been engaged, but the relationship ended (there is some debate as to just who broke up with whom), and now these two find themselves in a close working relationship as captain and first officer.  One gets the sense that a mutual attraction still exists between them, although it manifests itself primarily as arguing.  Any scene with dialogue between Shelby and Calhoun is a lot of fun to read.

In addition to those crew members introduced in House of Cards, we are introduced here to the rest of the crew, including Zak Kebron, a massive, rock-like alien called a Brikar who serves as Security Chief.  Robin Lefler, a young woman who, like Shelby and Selar, appeared in a single episode of TNG, is the operations officer.  Mark McHenry, another young human, is the ship's helmsman.  Perhaps the most unique character is Chief Engineer Burgoyne-172, a dual-gendered alien called a Hermat who is attracted to Selar, the ship's Vulcan doctor.  Si Cwan, the former Thallonian prince, boards the ship as a stowaway and convinces Calhoun to allow him to remain aboard as an Ambassador, although he is not a member of Starfleet.

One thing that makes the New Frontier novels work so well is writer Peter David's ability to switch from broad comedy to intense action sequences.  New Frontier is by design wackier than any of the other Star Trek series, but it is also more violent and more likely to go to some pretty dark places.  It is primarily David's skill writing comedy and character interaction that are on display here in book two.  He will show off his skills as an action/adventure writer in book three, The Two-Front War.

Star Trek: New Frontier, Book One: House of Cards

By Peter David

The New Frontier series is the first original Star Trek fiction concept, not based directly on any of the television shows or films.  Developed by John J. Ordover and Peter David, the New Frontier books began with a series of four short chapter books, which tell the story of the origin of the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur and their first mission in a previously unexplored sector of space.

The cover of the first book in the series indicates that the publishers were not entirely confident a series of books not based on one of the television series would be successful.  Familiar characters Spock and Captain Picard are prominantly featured, along with the new captain of the Excalibur, Mackenzie Calhoun.  Indeed, Spock, Picard, and the crew of the Enterprise-E are prominently featured in the book, and three of the crew of the Excalibur are minor characters who appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While the characters from other series help to ground things in the established Star Trek universe, their appearance was not necessary to create interest or enthusiasm, as this first book starts off with a compelling flashback sequence, featuring a teenaged freedom fighter, a young alien named M'k'n'zy, in a desperate battle against the aliens who have subjugated his people and who M'k'n'zy has been leading an uprising against.  M'k'n'zy emerges triumphant, but not before receiving a disfiguring facial wound, a scar that becomes a distinctive visual characteristic of this fascinating new character.  Eventually, this young man would join Starfleet, changing his name to Mackenzie Calhoun (Calhoun is the name of the city he is from), where he would be involved in some as yet unexplained tragedy aboard the starship Grissom before being reassigned as an undercover agent.  When Captain Picard finally recruits Calhoun for the Excalibur mission, the fear is that Calhoun may have been undercover for too long, that the shady people he has been dealing with in his secret missions have begun to corrupt him.  Mackenzie Calhoun is, in short, a tremendously appealing character, with a rich backstory and dynamic personality, somewhat in the mode of Captain Kirk but with a darker edge.  The choice of this character for the captain of the New Frontier series was an inspired one.

Also inspired is the basic premise of the series.  Calhoun's ship, the Excalibur, will be the lone Starfleet vessel sent to explore Sector 221-G, a virtually unexplored area of space that had previously been under the control of the powerful Thallonian Empire, an empire which has recently fallen, leaving the planets in that sector in a state of chaos.  The Excalibur is authorized to offer aid and assistance whenever the captain deems it appropriate to do so.

While the mission of the Excalibur is laid out in this first book and Calhoun is recruited for the mission, we do not meet all of the New Frontier characters, nor are there any scenes aboard the Excalibur.  Other new characters we are introduced to include Si Cwan, a member of the royal family that was head of the former Thallonian Empire who will accompany The Excalibur crew on their mission.  We also meet Soleta, a female half-Vulcan, half-Romulan who will serve as the ship's science officer, and the Vulcan doctor Selar, one of the minor charcters from Star Trek: The Next Generation

This first, short novel does not offer an entirely satisfying reading experience in and of itself, nor is it meant to.  The book ends on a cliffhanger and continues directly into Book Two: Into the Void, which will continue the origin story of the Excalibur and her crew.  What we do have here is an intriguing first chapter in what would go on to become one of the best Star Trek fiction series ever published.

Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion

By Jeff Ayers

Released in 2006 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, Voyages of Imagination is a complete guide to the first four decades of professionally published Star Trek fiction.  The book includes cover images (in black and white) and synopses of every Star Trek book published in that time, beginning with those published by Bantam Books and Ballantine Books in the 1970s, before moving on to the material published by Pocket Books, who remain the publishers of Star Trek books to this day.

The book is divided into sections examining the novels published based on each of the Star Trek television series, and also includes sections on novelizations, original fiction concepts (like New Frontier and Vanguard), miniseries (like Gateways and Section 31), anthologies, and young adult fiction.  The book is well organized and easy to navigate, with an index, and an exhaustively researched Star Trek fiction timeline (the earliest entry in the timeline is chapter 11 of The Q Continuum: Q-Space, which takes place 5 billion years ago, and the last entry is the short story "Our Million Year Mission" which takes place in the year 102260).

While the complete lists of novels and the timeline make this book an ideal resource for trivia lovers, it is the interviews and commentary from popular Star Trek authors like Peter David, William Shatner, and Diane Duane, that really add substance to the book and make it a must-have for fans of Star Trek fiction.  You'll find, in this book, a good description of the collaborative process between William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens on the "Shatnerverse" novels, something I'd always been curious about.  Star Trek fiction editor John Ordover is particularly forthcoming and honest.  He reveals that both the New Frontier series and the "New Earth" miniseries came from personal frustrations with the direction of Star Trek: Voyager.  Regarding the covers to the "Double Helix" crossover books, Ordover says, "The covers were lousy!  They were what I would call color forms; bad likenesses of the characters pasted down on the covers."  Like a good DVD commentary track, you'll get glimpses into disagreements between writers and editors, and between editors and Paramount, but overall one comes away with a sense of a creatively fertile atmosphere, made up of people who take their jobs seriously and strive to produce the best products they are capable of.  Everyone reading this blog knows that Star Trek fiction is more than just cheap tie-in product, and it's nice to see that the writers and editors feel as passionately about the books as the fans do.

Speaking personally, this book has been a real treat that I am constantly returning to.  After having been away from the novels for several years, I have just recently begun to read Star Trek fiction again, and this book, along with some online resources, have been a Godsend in terms of getting caught up with all of the great material that I missed when it was originally published.  I think anyone interested in Star Trek fiction would find a lot to enjoy in Voyages of Imagination.